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Taste.com.au - April 2013
Eat in, eat out, eat well. Look for the taste liftout on Tuesdays in the Herald Sun, Courier Mail and Daily Telegraph, on Wednesdays in the Adelaide Advertiser, and in Perth’s Sunday Times.

MasterChef judge and dad of three Matt Preston shares his wisdom on cooking for kids.

Looking at life from the misty mountain top of old age, there seem to be four phases or ages that we go through.

The first is when we are trying to work out what adults want. Then from about 13, you are trying to work out what the opposite sex really want. (This is a phase which some men never mature out of, failing to realise that there are only ever four responses that you really need to know: "Yes dear", "no, you look great", "let me do that", "I'm sorry".)

The next two ages can be defined as firstly, trying to work out what kids want and then, finally, not caring what kids want. I am firmly in phase three (and probably still on my "Ps" when it comes to phase two). Both are perplexing but nothing – not even Chinese flat-pack furniture instructions – can be more perplexing than trying to work out what your kids will eat if you aren't cooking for them daily.

It's not a restaurant

I don't know when it happened but these days a parent is expected to have about 50 recipes at their fingertips to satisfy the culinary demands of junior. When I was a boy, my mother had just a revolving list of eight things she fed us and we didn't complain.

Of course now that I am old complaining about young people and how cushy they have it is part of the job and I suspect it might even be a mandatory part of the entrance exam to becoming a card-carrying oldie.

However, my brood and I have reached a sort of uneasy peace about a group of food that is approved by all three members of the kiddie-kitchen cabal. I should note that the youngest is also the unusual child who refuses to eat both lasagne and pizza, marking her down as someone who will go hungry at uni or alternatively, end up a potential supermodel.

Here is what might be described as "safe territory" when it comes to meal times in our house.

Wraps

Won't eat pizza, will eat flatbread made with exactly the same dough? Go figure.

But there is something rather good about folding bread, warm and fluffy from the pan, oven or toaster around everything from a jumble of blushing pan-fried prawns tossed with lime juice and cubes of avocado or cubes of Sunday's leg of lamb recooked on the barbecue until it's all sizzly and crusty.

The presence of tzatziki and some cucumber ribbons or the usual taco combo of shredded iceberg and diced tomato provide a way of getting some veg into them too. You can also try the same approach with avocado, shredded chook and some mayo.

I am still suspicious that the mere act of them rolling wraps for themselves makes them more acceptable. I think the sociologists would call it "ownership".

Pasta

The flexibility of pasta makes it a staple in our house. If one of the kids is being fussy and is "off" zucchini or tomato sauce then a dollop of pesto, whether it is a classic basil and pine nut or something more exotic like coriander and cashew, is an easy alternative.

As is serving the pasta nude with just a little grated cheese, melted butter and black pepper. This sounds simple but the Romans worship it as one of their three favourite pasta sauces alongside "carbonara" and "all'amatriciana". Perhaps that is because it sounds far sexier in Italian – "cacio e pepe".

Currently the fave pasta at home – other than the ubiquitous bolognese – is one that featured in this column last year where you cook florets of cauliflower in the same water with the pasta.Then when it is cooked, you toss it in a hot pan with the pancetta that has just cooked in it. Try it because cauliflowers are rather good at the moment.

Rice

Rice is like the unassuming bloke in the corner of the room who no one objects to and is pretty hard to hate – even for kids. Well, at least if it is white and long. Rice dishes such as pilafs and risottos are always popular, as is partnering rice with something saucy like a simple braise of chicken legs in a tomato sauce –my kids do love a braise though – or that old nursery staple, tuna mornay.

Tuna mornay might well be my favourite comfort food. Especially if the white sauce is loaded with peas and corn kernels as well as shards of canned tuna. I reckon the secret is a little lemon to cut the richness and accentuate the sweetness of the corn and peas.

Skewers

There also seems to be a strange fascination about skewers. Pretty much anything that won't be eaten as a lump on a plate will be treated with far more interest if it has to be pushed off a bamboo stick – cubes of lamb, chicken breast, prawns, fish or beef.

The two secrets seem to be to keep any flavourings to a minimum and ideally getting their nimble little fingers to help with the threading.

Balls

I am assuming that this falls into the same area as skewers.

But for some reason, anything that's ball-shaped seemed to hit the jackpot with most kids, whether it is meatballs, dumplings, chicken balls, risotto balls (aka arancini) or kofte. And yes, they can go on skewers, and be served in wraps too making them super kid-friendly.

Frittatas

They might turn their noses up at quiche but for some reason this simple block of baked egg hiding all manner of usually unmentionable vegetables is always a sure fire winner with most kids.

It can be loaded with zucchini and parmesan, peas, mint and feta, or all manner of med veg such as capsicums and corn kernels with cubes of ham.